Science & Tech

Science & Tech

Explore the discoveries that reveal how the world works, alongside the technologies that extend, reshape, and sometimes challenge what’s possible.

A bright star illuminates the surrounding space with a spectrum of colors in a nebula.
From before the Big Bang to Voyager 1, particle physicist Harry Cliff takes us on a whiz-bang tour of the Universe's evolution.
Illustration of a smiling man wearing glasses against a geometric background, unraveling the secret of good AI.
The technology is not a replacement for human labor — it's a way to complement existing human tasks.
scholz's star
Despite billions of years of life on Earth, humans first arose only ~300,000 years ago. It took all that time to make our arrival possible.
Four earth-like planets from a multiverse, in varying colors, aligned in space against a starry background.
Some physicists are besot with the multiverse, but if we can't detect these other universes, how seriously should we take them?
A person dressed in a tailored suit emerges from a cloud of smoke against a backdrop adorned with kelvin physics equations and diagrams.
Lord Kelvin is thought to have said there was nothing new to discover in physics. His real view was the opposite.
Smiling pilot holding a helmet, wearing a flight suit with a u.s. insignia and a jet pack.
On the morning of April 20, 1961, all conditions were "go" for an attempt at free flight. A man was on standby with a fire extinguisher. Just in case.
A digital image of a star's structure superimposed on a futuristic tunnel with neon arrow accents.
In the infant Universe, particle physics reigned supreme.
Colorful interstellar gas and dust form towering pillars in a star-forming region of space.
A deep dive into the chaotic journey of star formation.
Earth viewed from space, partially obscured by a graphical overlay illustrating how oxygen once nearly killed life.
Known as the Great Oxygenation Event, Earth froze over as oxygen accumulated in our atmosphere, nearly driving all life extinct.
Orange character with large eyes floating against a forest backdrop.
Google’s “Genie” could be used to create a wide range of interactive environments for more than just games.
A tick clinging to a blade of grass against a green background.
More than 90% of ticks that bit treated volunteers were dead within 24 hours.
a man sitting in a wheel chair next to a laptop.
Dennis Klatt developed trailblazing text-to-speech systems before losing his own voice to cancer.
A split image showing Emmy Noether with equations on the left, and a "before and after" physics diagram illustrating symmetry conserved quantity on the right.
First derived by Emmy Noether, for every symmetry a theory possesses, there's an associated conserved quantity. Here's the profound link.
Spectators observing a dramatic eruption from active volcanoes at twilight.
Volcanologists warn that magma-filled vents evolve over time, leading to an underestimation of the number that might erupt — especially those capable of the biggest explosions
Elderly man examining a blood pressure monitor at a table.
During the industrial era the cost of artificial light fell off a cliff — and the road to illumination was paved with ingenuity and slaughter.
standard model structure
A great many cosmic puzzles still remain unsolved. By embracing a broad and varied approach, particle physics heads toward a bright future.
A telescope dedicated to astronomy pointing towards a starry sky at night, with beams of light overcoming the atmosphere to create a visual path.
Lasers, mirrors, and computational advances can all work together to push ground-based astronomy past the limits of our atmosphere.
Even if you aren't in the path of totality, you can still use the solar eclipse to measure how long it takes the Moon to orbit Earth.
Monochrome portrait of a man with curly hair superimposed on an abstract background featuring skyscrapers, geometric patterns, and elements of machine learning marketing.
Big Think talks to Konrad Feldman — founder of advertising tech innovator Quantcast.